The present disclosure involves the control or reduction of odors in personal care products and hygienic products. Odors can result from various liquid and solid waste discharged from the body of humans or animals, such as, for example, urine, feces, blood and/or sweat. The reduction or elimination of odors due to the bodily waste is of particular interest for the user or wearer of the personal care product in order to avoid embarrassment. Personal care products can be placed against or in proximity to the body (i.e., contiguous with the body) of a wearer and non-limiting examples can include, for example, diapers, diaper pants, training pants, swimwear, absorbent underpants, adult incontinence products including garments and insert pads, bed pads, feminine hygiene pads or liners, tampons, sweat absorbing pads, shoe pads, helmet liners, body wipes, tissues, towels, napkins, and the like, as well as medical articles such as medical absorbent garments, bandages, masks, wound dressings, surgical bandages and sponges, underpads, and the like.
Hygienic products can include articles that may be used to preserve the health of a user that is, for example, by providing cleanliness or a sense of cleanliness, such as for example through the control of odors, and can include articles that are not placed against or used in proximity of the body of a user. For example, in a kitchen environment, blood or juices from meat or other foods may pool in a refrigerator or on a surface, such as, for example, a shelf or a countertop. Odor can generate as a byproduct of bacteria feeding and living on the blood or juices or from the spoiling of food. Odors can also generate from various foods that often emit strong aromas, such as from garlic, cheeses, meats and/or spices. Thus, it is desirable that hygienic products have odor-controlling properties. Non-limiting examples of hygienic products can include, for example, refrigerator pads, surface wipes (to clean counters, mirrors, etc.), odor-absorbing sheets, trash can liners, and the like. Odor-absorbing sheets can also be useful for air vent or filter applications, such as for example, kitchen exhaust fans or cat litter box air filters.
Two approaches commonly used with personal care products and hygienic products to control odor include masking the odor with fragrance and absorbing the odor with an odor-absorbing material such as a cyclodextrin or activated carbon. Drawbacks of masking odor with fragrance include the use of fragrances where the scent is not acceptable to the user and/or using an amount of fragrance that inadequately masks the amount of odor.
Cyclodextrin-based materials have limited odor-absorbing capacities due to, 1) weak binding strengths with some odorous compounds and, 2) generally not absorbing odorous compounds effectively while in solid state. Activated carbon is aesthetically unpleasing due to the black color even though it provides effective odorant absorption. Activated carbon is generally avoided in personal care products that touch the body in use, such as for example, a diaper or a feminine hygiene pad, for likelihood of the user suspecting that, 1) the product is dirty, 2) is unsafe for use, or 3) has some other defect. Furthermore, activated carbon cannot be easily used in various types of films or coatings.
Thus, there remains a need in personal care products and hygienic products for an odor-controlling material that is aesthetically acceptable to the user and simple to process.